The Minnesota Golden Gophers saw their four-game winning streak come to an end as they suffered a disappointing 26-19 loss at Rutgers on Saturday afternoon.
The loss also puts Minnesota in a tough position finishing the year with a home game against Penn State and a trip to Wisconsin but Pro Football Focus's grades may have told part of the story and how the Gophers can shore things up over next week's bye.
Here are the Gophers' top 10 performers on both offense and defense (minimum 10 snaps played), per PFF, as well as a mention of some low performances as well. For reference, a grade of 60.0 is considered average while those in the 30s are very poor and those in the 90s are elite.
Follow us on Facebook
Related: Gophers have 4-game winning streak snapped vs. Rutgers in 26-19 loss
Brosmer put up solid stats, completing 27-of-45 passes for 262 yards and a touchdown and Spencer was one of his top targets with five catches for 61 yards but the passing game didn't have much help - especially from the offensive line.
Eresery had another strong game, allowing just one pressure on 51 pass-blocking snaps but the weakness of the offensive line was emphasized by three pressures by Ashton Beers and four pressures by Phillip Daniels. The run-blocking game also did not perform well as Darius Taylor was held to 28 yards and a touchdown on 10 carries.
Marcus Major saved his day with two catches for 20 yards and Nick Kallerup had one reception for 16 yards.
The three lowest-graded players on offense for the Gophers on Saturday were wide receiver Le'Meke Brockington (55.7), Darius Taylor (55.1) and tight end Frank Bierman (47.8).
Related: Rutgers rolling early vs. Gophers, lead 14-9 at halftime
The Gophers defense bent for most of the afternoon before breaking in the fourth quarter. Smith had five total tackles in a sack to lead the defensive line and Robinson had two total tackles in the secondary.
Cody Lindenberg led the Gophers with 14 total tackles while Devin Eastern had five tackles and a sack and Jack Henderson had four tackles.
The three lowest-graded defensive players for Minnesota on Saturday were safety Kerry Brown (53.5), linebacker Devon Williams (51.7), and cornerback Justin Walley (51.2).
The Gophers have a bye week before they take on Penn State on Nov. 23.